I have no idea about, or interest in cavaliers, however I recently saw someone in Ireland post on a dog trainer's facebook wall saying they have bought two wonderful ckc pups from an Irish breeder who are all health tested etc. With the myriad of tests no doubt required for healthy dogs of this breed I was wondering if it was actually all true. I had previously read about a ckc owner here in Ireland who shows them and has health tested all her dogs in the UK saying that you can't get a good quality, pup from fully tested parents in Ireland. Anyone, I won't post the ad but it does say ''parents are OFA certified (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) www.offa.org
Our puppies leave with a WRITTEN Veterinary health Cert stating they are clear of any Heart defects (including Murmur) and are Cleared for Patella Luxation (Back Knees)''

That doesn't sound right to me. I will also mention that the price is far, far lower than I would expect for this sort of litter.

Thoughts?

Sounds like one of the puppy scam adverts, as they are mentioning American health testing schemes.

I thought assessment of patellas was done officially at about a year old so not possible in a young pup.

Unfortunately the dubious breeders out there learn what to put in an advert to make it look good. All these health tests/MRI's etc are expensive so you would expect that to be reflected in the price of the pups, cheap pups would make me think they haven't had the outlay for those tests.

Thanks, thought as much, just wasn't sure as I know nothing about the breed.

Rena K. in Ireland is sending all her dogs to London to be MRI scanned and has done over 20 now I think.
There is no official scheme for testing patellas and, in any case they would need to be adults to grade.

It is almost unheard of for a Cavalier puppy to suffer from Mitral Valve Disease as this is a degenerative condition.
Flow murmurs are common but have nothing to do with the Mitral valve...they usually resolve.

I often get asked for "health tested" puppies ..when in fact they buyer means pups from Health tested parents.
Most conditions are not present in the young but develop with age.

According to Cavalier Health:

''Veterinarians can check for patellar luxation by manipulating it. The dog is examined awake and the veterinarian classifies its degree of luxation. Adult cavaliers should be evaluated annually, and puppies should be examined at 6-8 weeks of age prior to their release to the new owners.''

There is no official scheme for PL and although all my pups are manipulated by the vet it is not recorded anywhere.

Cavalier Health is a US website where there IS a scheme.

Aha, I wonder is that the certification that the breeder here is going by though when they sa the sell pups who have written confirmation from the vet that they don't have such issues.

Seems fishy to me.

You can get a vet to write a note saying they have examined a pup and found no luxating patellae -my latest Papillon pup came with that from a very reputable breeder. Her chip number was recorded on it as well as her registered name so I know it was the correct pup. But like has been said, there is no official scheme. Heart clearance in Cavalier pups means nothing -you want to know the heart status of parents and most importantly grandparents, that's what matters. MRI scans the dog (i.e. the Cavalier) has to be aged over 2 ½ for the result to be counted as reliable.

It's the mention of the use of the US OFA schemes that rings alarm bells.  Not sure if they will screen overseas dogs, but as has been said cheap puppies are very unlikely to come from a  breeder willing to go to that extent.

I have seen other scam adverts talking about non US pups being AKC (American Kennel Club registered).